


Would you still like me?

by ColourShot



Category: Bad News - Fandom, The Comic Strip Presents...
Genre: Colin is trying to help, Coming Out, Den is a bloody idiot, Gen, Internalized Homophobia, Light Angst, Mentions of Violence, Multi, Period-Typical Homophobia, Vim and Colin are holding the family braincell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:34:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28566276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColourShot/pseuds/ColourShot
Summary: Coming out to someone who may be homophobic - or at the very least, stupid - is incredibly hard. If it wasn’t tough enough already.Vim really wished he was anyone else.
Relationships: Colin Grigson/Spider Webb
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	1. Alcohol makes one say stupid things.

**Author's Note:**

> This has ended up way longer than expected O_O Apparently I have a lot to write when it comes to these 4 idiots. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> (Also I had to slip in some Colin and Spider, maybe not the most popular ship but I like it :P)

“ _Yeah well maybe you are bloody queer._ ”

That sentence echoed in Vim’s head as he downed _another_ lager. He was unsure of how many he’d had but he knew he was _very_ drunk. He had good bloody reason to be. He was only just coming to term with the fact he was...well...a poof. A queer. Whatever fucking label you wanted to use, it didn’t matter. Vim was _not_ dealing with that information well. Evident by the several empty cans surrounding him.

His bandmates didn’t know...did they? Vim’s fingers ghosted over his knuckles, faintly remembering the last time one of them had accused him of being queer. Maybe it wasn’t fair to say “accuse”, Vim honestly had no idea if Colin had meant it that way...didn’t matter though. Vim made sure he wouldn’t do it again.

_”Cause I’m not a **queer** ” Colin had spat out before Vim tore his wig off. Vim didn’t spend much time thinking about whether or not Colin was implying what Vim thought he was, the word set off alarm bells in the guitarist’s head. He had lunged for Colin who **just** managed to duck out of the way. His next decision however, was not so smart. He dashed into the bathroom, trying to lock the door behind him._

_”BASTARD!” Vim shouted, smashing the door open and jumping for Colin once again. Any pleas that left Colin’s mouth fell on deaf ears. He tried defending himself from Vim’s fists but to no avail, there was no stopping him._

_”No! Alan, please! I’m sorry!” Vim had chased Colin into the hallway, just after the man had tried to make his escape. He tackled him to the floor once again, continuing his assault. Stupid poncy idiot, what the hell did he know about Vim? Nothing, absolutely nothing._

_”JUST SHUT UP!” Vim had practically screamed. Colin looked terrified, he hadn’t ever seen Vim look this worked up and...bloody hell was he crying?_

_”P-Please, please don’t hurt me!” Colin thought it was a rather pathetic attempt at reasoning and it certainly didn’t seem to make much difference. Vim wiped his eyes with one arm, still gripping onto Colin’s shirt before delivering a few more blows. He didn’t know why he was crying, this didn’t make him look any less like a poof, did it? Bloody hell._

_It all ended rather quickly once the police were called._

Vim sighed, taking another sip of his drink. Was he ever going to...well...come out? No, that idea seemed stupid. When? What for? And to who? Well...he knew the answer to the last one. His friends, if you could actually call them that. He was only really worried about telling one of them. He couldn’t give a toss what Colin thought and he was pretty sure Spider wouldn’t care but…

Den.

 _Shit._ It was him who had started this whole crisis, his words which wouldn’t stop playing on repeat in his head. His...attitude that was causing all this strife for Vim in the first place. The reason that Vim’s head was hurting terribly and he felt like drinking himself until he couldn’t think anymore. He felt like a bloody idiot for being so upset over this, Den wasn’t going to find out if he just kept his mouth shut.

Even if it hurt him terribly doing so.

A door slamming shattered any peace Vim might have had. It wasn’t long before Colin stormed into the room, about to rant about whatever had caused him to rush in in the first place. He stopped very suddenly once he got a good look at Vim though.

“What’s wrong with you?” He motioned to Vim and the many cans surrounding the man. Vim sniffed slightly, already annoyed. 

“Nothin’” He said gruffly before raising a can to his lips. Colin frowned slightly, deciding Vim was most definitely lying to him and since Colin considered himself to be a _really great guy_ , he’d help. 

“You’re a terrible liar, you know that right?” Colin said, sitting on the bed next to Vim. Vim grimaced slightly in response, once again going to take another sip. Colin stopped him, much to the dismay of Vim. 

“Get off.” Vim tried pushing Colin off him but the man didn’t let up. He finally managed to pry the can out of Vim’s grip. 

“Now-” Colin tossed the thing aside before turning back to Vim and hitting the bed in a matter of fact way. “Why are you drinking so much?”

“Cause I’m fucking miserable, that’s why. Now give me that drink back.” When Colin shook his head, Vim sighed. “Why do you care anyway?” Colin didn’t answer at first, he fiddled with his hands, trying to come up with an answer.

“Because…” ‘Because I care about you’ didn’t seem quite right. “Because we have a gig tomorrow and believe it or not, we actually _need_ our lead singer and guitarist for that. And I’d prefer it if you weren’t hungover or worse, _still drunk,_ if it’s all the same to you.” Colin finished. Ah yes, because their last gig had gone so well. Vim was sure he was still sore from then.

“Okay…”

“Now, will you stop being such a miserable bastard and tell me what’s wrong?”

“No.” Aside from Den, Colin was the last person who Vim wanted to come out to. Not because he was afraid of what Colin would think, he was just an annoying prick and didn’t deserve to know that about Vim. No doubt he’d make fun of him anyway and that look of smugness he so often cast Vim’s way wouldn’t ever leave Colin’s face. And Vim couldn’t stand the idea of Colin thinking he had the upper hand because as much as Vim would _love_ to believe that Colin never would, if he knew, he would. No doubt he’d proudly tell everyone that he had been right about Vim.

So maybe Vim did care a little about what Colin thought. But that didn’t change the fact that he _didn’t_ want to tell him. However the more the man pushed, the harder Vim was finding it to not just yell at him. 

“Why not?” Colin’s voice was beginning to take on that whiny tone that he was well known for and Vim felt like decking him in the face for it. 

“I just don’t want to. It’s nothing important.” It was in fact, very important. All the more reason to _not_ tell Colin. That, however, did not deter Colin. 

“It must be _something, Alan._ What, are you worried you’re a queer or something?” Colin had managed to hit the nail on the head without even realising it. And now he was relatively sure Vim was going to hit _him_ on the head for saying that - considering the sour look he was giving him. Colin almost instinctively raised his hands to shield his face. Would it kill him to _not_ say stupid things?

Surprisingly, Vim did not react with violence. A more bitter expression took shape on the lead singer’s face before he looked away from Colin. 

“It’s Vim.” He finally said, correcting Colin for his earlier usage of “Alan”. He didn’t seem to want to address the latter statement. 

“W-wha- Oh! Yes, yes...sorry _Vim._ ” Colin eyed Vim, he didn’t _look_ like he was going to smash his face in but...well you couldn’t be too sure. “Look, I was just joking before so-”

“You were right though.” Vim said bluntly, still not looking at Colin. 

“-Please don’t- wait...what?” Colin paused halfway through asking Vim to _not_ beat him up again, the shock of what Vim had just said quickly erasing any pleas from his mind - replaced by complete and utter _surprise._

“You heard me.”

“I don’t think I did, _actually._ ” Colin almost scoffed before realising that perhaps this wasn’t the tone he should be using for this.

“I’m a fucking poof! A queer, a homosexual, whatever fuckin’ term you want to use.” Colin cringed at the way Vim spat out those terms, almost as if the singer had wanted to get them out of his mouth as quickly as possible.

“Yes, yes, okay. I get it. I could do without the language though.” For once, Vim was actually somewhat glad Colin was focusing on _that_ part of his sentence. It didn’t stop him from playing the annoyed part though. 

“You’re close to having your fuckin’ head kicked in.” Vim wasn’t really sure he meant it but threatening Colin seemed to have entered his usual speech pattern.

“I don’t think it’s wise to be threatening someone with this kind of information, _Vim._ ” That had come out much more venomous that Colin had actually intended and judging by Vim’s wide eyed look, he wasn’t finding it very funny. It only struck him after he’d opened his mouth, that perhaps this wasn’t a great topic to joke about.

“Don’t tell anyone, please, Colin.” Colin didn’t like how Vim’s face morphed into that of silent fear, a pleading look that made Colin’s gut twist with guilt in the most terrible way.

“That...was a joke. A shit joke.” He admitted, his tone softening a considerable amount. “Course I won’t.” They sat in silence for a few seconds before Colin realised he probably should be offering some sort of reassurance. Judging by how Vim was screwing up his face, a blush spreading across his cheeks, he could use it.

“I...I don’t mind by the way. In case you were wondering…”

“Wasn’t. Don’t care what you think.” Colin could tell that Vim was lying, just by the way his shoulders had relaxed. That ended all rather quickly once Colin asked the next question though. 

“Are...you going to tell the others?”

“Spider doesn’t need to know.”

“I mostly meant...well… _Den._ ” Any hypothetical door that had been opened between them was rather promptly slammed shut. Vim gripped the bed sheets, trying to calm the panic that rose in him at that reminder.

“I’m not going to tell him.” Vim finally spoke. He sounded as if he was done with the conversation but Colin clearly wasn’t. 

“But why not? Surely you want him t-”

“Yes of course I fuckin’ do” Vim interrupted. “Course I do…” His voice quietened. “He’s just…”

“Den?”

“Yeah. Plus he’s said all that-” He motioned rather uselessly at the air “ _stuff._ I think I can guess how he feels about people like me.”

“Well, yes but-”

“ _What if he stops liking me?_ ” Vim whispered. _Ah._ Colin had never pinned him as an emotional drunk.

“Ah…” He said rather lamely. “Look, Den’s just…” Colin searched for the correct words. 

“Stupid?” Vim offered. 

“Well, I _wasn’t_ going to put in such blunt terms but yes. I don’t think he means half the things he says, if he can even remember he said them in the first place.” Colin fiddled with his hair slightly before continuing. “He likes you, y’know. I know pretty bloody well what it’s like to _not_ be liked by him.” He rubbed his arm, as if nursing the distant memory of an injury given to him by the guitarist in question. “So I think it’s fair for me to say that...he does.”

Colin went silent after that, choosing to let Vim process that, if that was indeed what he was doing. Colin couldn’t tell, Vim’s face had scrunched up again into an almost unrecognizable emotion - his eyes looked unfocused and Colin couldn’t tell _what_ he was feeling.

“You’re taking this better than I thought you would.” He finally said. Colin started what was a feeling of offense.‘ _How could Vim **not** think he’d take it well? He was awfully progressive and-_’For once, Colin tried to quieten his internal mutterings - he didn’t want to risk the little connection he’d managed to build with Vim. Though he’d make sure to remember to demonstrate how right on his thinking was later on.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly _that_ surprised.” He treaded carefully with words, unsure if that kind of thing would _still_ upset Vim. 

“Hm?” Vim tilted his head, obviously looking for some sort of elaboration. It felt odd to not take immediate offense to Colin implying he was a poof or to not immediately deck the man for doing so. The urge was still worryingly there but...something was stopping him. Vim put it down to his drunkenness despite the fact that being drunk would normally suggest the opposite.

“You always reacted so violently that it was either you were or you hated people like _that._ ”

“Spose that’s fair.” Vim shrugged, smiling slightly despite everything. It faded rather quickly though, replaced by a much more somber look. "I can't believe I'm asking _you_ for advice but...do you think I should come out to him?" It felt oddly stilted, as if Vim wasn't quite comfortable with that sentence leaving his mouth - or the concept as a whole.

"Can't hurt, can it?" That was a positively stupid response, of course it could. But what would Colin know? 

"Yes it can, it bloody well can hurt a lot." Vim sniffed, hints of anger beginning to seep into his tone. "But _you_ wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Colin tried to interrupt but Vim had decided this was worth starting with him. "Cause you're just a perfect posh fucking norm- straight twat, aren't you?" Colin winced slightly at the usage of "normal", a reaction that seemed to confuse Vim. 

"Look, I don't want to start."

"Why fuckin' not?" Drunk Vim was absolutely no fun at all, he seemed determined to run through all the emotions in one night.

"Because-" They were both interrupted before either one of them could make anything of this situation. A door opening and the shuffling of feet made Vim straighten up slightly. What if it was Den? 

A rather obnoxious (though ultimately relieving) laugh sounded. No question who that was. It was Spider. Sure enough, the drummer stumbled into the room, giggling about something. He half fell onto Colin before sliding down to the ground and resting his head against his thigh. An action which Colin melted into all too easily.

“Den’s coming in with the food soon.” Spider said, blissfully unaware of the situation he’d walked into. _Ah yes._ Somewhere, in Vim’s hazy memory, he remembered Den and Spider mentioning that they were picking up some food.

“I’ll take it you’ve been drinking?” Colin seemed in a hurry to move the conversation away from any mention of Den, nervously looking back at Vim. Spider smiled up at Colin.

“Maybee. Looks like he has been as well, ehahah” Spider pointed over to Vim and the cans surrounding him. Vim rolled his eyes before Colin responded in perhaps one of the stupider ways. 

“Well yes, he has good reason to.” Spider perked up slightly at that, obviously intrigued. Vim shot him a look that said “ _You stupid git, what the **fuck** did you say that for?_” Colin shrugged dumbly in response, he couldn’t do much else. 

“What’s that?” Spider looked at them back and forth, expectantly. Colin placed a hand on Spider’s head, absent mindlessly beginning to stroke his hair - an action that would have struck Vim as _very_ odd if he were paying attention. He was much too focused on the prospect of having to come out again, something he wasn’t sure he had the energy to do, especially not when he wanted to save it for Den. _Even though he was yet to make his mind up about that._

Colin looked at Vim for an answer, afraid of putting a foot wrong. Vim eventually shrugged, maybe it was a good idea to have two people on his side if things...turned nasty with Den. That thought made Vim shudder. 

“Look, you tell him. Just...toss me that lager, will ya?” Colin nodded, if a little reluctantly. Vim didn’t need anymore alcohol in his system but he deserved a little something to make this whole thing less painful. He chucked Vim the can, who enthusiastically began to down it, choosing to look away while Colin told Spider. He supposed he felt a little bad about not doing it himself, though he wasn’t sure _why._

“Ala- Vim’s…” Spider’s smile hadn’t faltered, he was still looking up at Colin with an almost puppy like quality. “He’s gay.”

That however, _did_ change the drummers expression. Mostly to that of confusion. 

“He’s what?”

“A queer, you know?” Spider’s expression told Colin that he _didn’t_ seem to know even though Colin was sure he’d heard him use the word before. Something just wasn’t clicking. “He likes men, Spider! He likes to kiss men and-”

“We don’t need to delve into that, thank you Colin.” Vim stopped him before he could go any further, a light blush making his embarrassment quite obvious. Spider seemed to have finally put two and two together though. 

“Oh! Ehaha, you mean how we-”

“Hah ha ha!” Colin quickly cut Spider off, accidentally tightening his grip on the drummer’s hair. It was Colin’s turn to blush and a small smile ghosted across Vim’s face.

“You and Spider, ‘ey?” He seemed glad that the attention was off him and the matters surrounding his sexuality - although he did feel a little guilty for his previous outburst. He'd been wrong about Colin in that one aspect. Colin on the other hand, didn't seem thrilled about it. His face was turning a rather brilliant shade of pink and he'd barely realised how tight his grip had gotten until Spider complained.

"Oww". Colin quickly looked down, releasing his grip almost immediately.

"S-Sorry Spider." He placed his hands back into his lap, rubbing his fingers over his thumbs. Vim just grinned. 

"Hey, I'm not judging." 

"Yeah I ruddy well hope not…" Colin said before smiling slightly back. "Have you decided what you're going to do about you and Den?" Vim fiddled with the can before sighing. 

"No, not really. But I feel as if I should make up my bloody mind soon. Spider said he'll be joining us…" As if by magic, they all heard the door swing open and the heavy footfalls that told them the guitarist had arrived. 

_Fantastic._

All eyes ended up on Vim, Colin was giving him a rather wide eyed stare while Spider seemed only mildly nervous. Den remained oblivious to the silent terror his presence had brought on.

“Sorry about the wait, I tried reparking the van and-” Vim tuned out Den’s story of how he probably nearly crashed the van. He was instead focused on his rapidly accelerating heartbeat and how _terribly_ aware of his breathing he suddenly was. 

“Um...Vim?” Den was looking at him, hand outstretched, offering him food. _How long had he been standing there?_ Vim didn’t really have the heart to tell him he wasn’t hungry, he didn’t have the heart to say _anything_ really so he just silently took the food. It was only when he looked up did he realise that Colin was _still_ looking at him, to which Vim just shrugged in response. Colin sighed and motioned with his head at Den - who was now busy talking to Spider (who’d had the smart idea to jump up off Colin as soon as Den had walked in). A sort of “ _Well...he’s here now!_ ” motion. Vim swallowed the last of the lager, a task that proved to be quite difficult as he felt like his throat was closing up. Maybe it’d make him drunk enough to convince himself that coming out to Den was a good idea.

It managed to be _just_ enough.

“Ah, Den…” Vim said, pushing himself off the bed without much grace. He _swore_ he hadn’t had that much to drink but perhaps the worryingly large pit in his stomach was contributing to his unsteadiness. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Course man.” Den turned to him, a dopey grin spreading across his face. Vim felt guilt begin to seep in, he felt like he was about to drop something on this man that he wasn’t prepared for. And for what felt like the 4th time that night, Vim couldn’t place _why_ he felt guilty, why he felt there was something wrong with how he was. Whatever that was. Vim didn’t understand it any better than Den probably did. But it was shit and he was stuck with it and he had to tell him. He didn’t even know why he _had_ to either. Being his authentic self maybe? What sappy bollocks that was. 

Didn’t stop it from being frustratingly true though.

Colin jumped up, in what looked like preparation to leave and drag Spider with him. Vim cast him a nervous look, he didn’t seem hot on the idea of being left alone with Den. Colin swallowed.. 

“Me and Spider will uh...wait in the bathroom.” Colin cringed slightly, he could have picked a better room. 

“We will?”

“ _Yes,_ we will.” Colin dragged him along, leaving Den in a state of utter confusion and Vim in one of mild panic. 

“‘S a bit weird, innit?” Den noted. Vim only nodded, finding it incredibly hard to speak - or make any sort of sound. He didn’t dare look Den in the eyes, instead gazing past him at the door which he’d really rather be running out of right now instead of doing...this. 

“Look, Den I-I-” Vim took a second to pause, absolutely hating how shaky his voice was. His heartbeat had begun to sound like thunder in his ears and he was sure he looked a right poof standing there, trembling under the gaze of what _was_ meant to be one of his closer friends. He couldn’t get over how bloody stupid he felt, stupid for trusting Den so little with this information and even more so for trusting Den so much with his emotions. He knew the response would be important to him, that it would affect him, no matter how much he’d pretend it didn’t. 

“Den.” He started again. “A-All those things you said about me, they were true, I-” God he was making a mess out of this. “Look, I’m-” He couldn’t seem to just bloody well say it. “What I’m _trying_ to say is...I’m gay.”

“...”

Vim looked up, shrinking into himself slightly as he did so, expecting to be met with...scorn. Or _something_. Anything at least. Not whatever Den was currently doing. Which was absolutely nothing. His face was an unreadable expression, something that made Vim’s gut begin to twist into an even tighter knot. 

“Wot” Was what Den finally came up with.

“W-What do you mean what?” Vim said, almost laughing. When Den didn’t respond, Vim began to wonder if he just didn’t understand that word. “You know like...I like men, I’m a poof, Den.” Den nodded, parts of his brain seemed to have finally kicked in. And when it did…

“Oh.” It wasn’t much but the almost...disappointed way that Den said it made a small part of Vim crumble. 

“O-oh? What does that mean, Den?” Den didn’t respond, he took a step forward, an action that made Vim want to leap back. “What the fuck does that mean Den?” Vim hissed, small hints of anger beginning to override his fear. Doing this drunk really had been a _terrible_ idea. He didn’t really care if he was poking a bees nest at this point, Den couldn’t just leave him with an “Oh.” 

Den didn’t say anything but he seemed to regret moving forward as he backtracked so quickly that Vim was surprised he didn’t trip over. Vim _still_ couldn’t read the man’s face. Den looked at him for a final time, before turning around and promptly running out the door, slamming it behind him. Vim just stood there, unsure of how he should be feeling. Angry? Sad? Relieved that Den hadn’t attacked him? Fuck, he felt it all. What the _fuck_ had that been? No response felt appropriate so he instead jumped to what somewhat described the utter helplessness of it all.

“Fucking hell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I promise I'm working on chapter 2 currently. I thought I'd spilt it up for my (and your) sanity.
> 
> Also this is the first time writing with these characters so hopefully it sounds _somewhat_ in character.


	2. It’s beginning to rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2! Hoping I managed to end this somewhat well as I wasn't expecting to write _quite_ this much about it :>
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It was getting close to a week. A whole bloody, terrible, nerve wracking week and they hadn’t spoken. Vim hadn’t even _seen_ Den. And to be fair, he’d locked himself in his room that entire time but only because Den had run off to wherever. Spider had attempted to find him and maybe he had, he’d gone missing as well. Which had made Colin nervous. And when Colin got nervous, Colin began to speak.

“I just don’t understand _where_ he could be-”

“Please shut up.”

“Oh I’m sorry _Alan_ but you’re not the only one who’s boyfriend is MIA. I’m bloody worried as well.” There was so much wrong with that sentence that Vim didn’t know where to start. 

“It’s _Vim._ And Den isn’t my bloody boyfriend, you’d think he’d made that _very_ fucking clear that that’s off the table from how he reacted.” He was unsure why he was even dignifying that with a response, he didn’t _want_ Den to be his boyfriend. He just wanted his friend back. 

Vim slammed the fridge door shut hard enough to make it shake. He’d been doing that a _lot_ recently, Colin was surprised any of the doors were still on their hinges. 

“I could do without the slamming of doors, thank you.” Colin rubbed his temples slightly. The stress wasn’t doing anyone any good. Vim had been in a foul mood all week AND they’d had to cancel their gig. It wouldn’t be surprising if the bar they were going to play at went out of business, having Bad News cancel on _you_ was more than embarrassing. But Colin didn’t have the energy to stress about that right now, he was much more focused on the singer in front of him.

“If you don’t like it, why don’t ya just fuck off then?” Vim hissed, preparing to leave. Colin sighed in response, god _who’d be him?_

“If I do, you won’t have anyone else left.” Colin said simply. Vim looked like he wanted to throttle the man, he didn’t have to be so infuriating did he? Still...Vim knew he wasn’t wrong and that made it worse. He didn’t respond, instead running upstairs to his room, much like a child who realised they were quickly losing an argument. 

Vim ignored Colin’s earlier request and slammed the door to his bedroom, tossing the apple he’d grabbed onto his bed. His head hurt again, that was all it had been doing recently. All week had been one long fucking headache. And now he was up in his room throwing a tantrum like a fucking child. And Vim couldn’t get over how utterly angry and hopeless he felt about it all.

How could Den do that to him? Just fucking leave without a word. Well that wasn't totally true, he'd said _a_ word. A single fucking word. "Oh." Oh? Oh?! What the fuck did that mean? It made Vim want to scream. And he had, previously, when he thought know one was listening. Of course Colin had heard him, hard not to when your new roommate was letting out all sorts of awful noises and causing - no doubt - quite a bit of damage to his room. 

What had kept Vim going, as slight as it was, was that Den _hadn't_ taken his stuff with him. Whether that was down to impulsive stupidness or something more, Vim held onto that tiny strand of hope. That maybe, just maybe Den was coming back. 

Though if he came back to pick up his stuff and that was it, Vim wasn't sure what he'd do. 

Christ, this felt bloody pathetic. He was actually like they'd broken up. They hadn't. There was nothing to _”break up”_ and once again Vim couldn't place why that idea made him so reactive. Why the fact anyone would suggest it - even himself - made him so upset. There wasn't anything wrong with it, was there? Any time Vim's thoughts went in that direction he saw Den's eyes, that hollow, disappointed look. And suddenly Vim was angry all over again.

It wasn't long before Vim couldn't stand to be in his room much longer, he couldn't stop himself at looking at the records that _Den_ had given him, those few jackets that Den had been too lazy to take back from Vim's room. He was starting to feel sick. He decided he needed to leave, just...get out of the house for a few minutes at least. 

And so he did, he pulled on the nearest jacket and rushed out of his room. Colin only cast him a curious glance as the singer ran out the door. He supposed there was no point in stopping him, it was good for him to be getting out of the house. 

It didn't take long for Vim to regret leaving though.

**

"Den, you're a stupid cunt, you know that right?" Spider seemed to have no qualms about chastising him. "Den answer me." He tapped on the man's shoulder, Spider also didn't seem to mind being frightfully annoying when it was useful. 

"Yes...I know." He gripped the steering wheel harder and sunk down into himself. "But I'm-"

"What, going to apologise?"

"Well, yeah! We're driving there now. That's gotta count for something, surely?"

"Yeah maybe but it's been almost a week. Feels a bit late by now." Den didn't like to think about how much time had passed, he _knew_ it'd been much too long without saying anything. He swallowed whatever guilt had begun to rise within him. Spider didn’t let him off so easy, continuing to go on. It’d taken a lot of convincing on Spider’s part to even get Den in the van in the first place. “A whole week!” Spider poked Den again who remained hunched over the wheel, staring straight ahead. 

“You’re gonna make me crash the van.” Was all Den could reply with. Spider just shrugged in response. 

“Vim probably wouldn’t mind that, ehahaha.” His laugh would have made you think Spider was joking and perhaps he was but Den couldn’t really tell. Den grimaced slightly, that pit was back in his stomach, maybe Spider was right. Maybe Vim wouldn’t mind…

“Well, I’m gonna have to disappoint him then...cause we’re here.” He said, stopping the van. His hand hesitated over the door handle. He wasn’t completely stupid (though that could be debated), he knew Vim was going to be angry. Just hopefully not _too_ angry. 

Spider wasted no time in jumping out of the van, obviously expecting Den to follow suit. Who did, if a little slowly. It was only as he was walking towards the house did he realise that he hadn’t _actually_ thought through what he was going to say. Den didn’t do a lot of that. 

He wasn’t given much time to worry over that as he ran right into Spider, who’d stopped in his tracks.

“‘Ey?” Den questioned before looking up, there was Vim, seemingly frozen in place. His expression morphed from surprise to a dark storminess, matched only by the sky above them.

“Vim.”

**

“Den.”

Spider shot them both a look, something that said “I don’t want to be here for this”. Vim watched Spider rush inside, he didn’t exactly blame him. Vim felt like doing the exact same.

“Um…” Den began, unsure of how to start this. Vim’s eyes only narrowed further and Den shifted uncomfortably. He was going to say something, about how he’d been a right tosser but he felt those words quickly get trapped. “That’s-...you’re wearing one of my jackets!” Den stuck out a finger, pointing and maybe looking a little too pleased.

Vim hugged himself, pulling the jacket around him closer - perhaps the exact opposite kind of signal he was _trying_ to send. He hated how Den was looking at him, a small smile creeping onto his lips. He _wasn’t_ allowed to look at him like, he wasn’t allowed to look pleased about anything concerning Vim.

“Doesn’t mean anythin'” Vim sniffed. “Look, what are you here for in the first place? Come to remind me how much you hate people like me? That you don’t want anything to do with me anymore? Or to pick up your stuff so you can _fuck off?_ ” Vim tried to keep as much emotion out of his voice as possible but he was finding it bloody difficult. Den’s forehead creased slightly, eyebrows knitting together. He was finding it hard to keep up, Vim was speaking at pace faster than Den could think.

“No, I...wot? I don’t-” Den managed, he _didn’t_ hate Vim. “I came here to say I’m sorry.” Den shuffled his feet, not really wanting to look at Vim properly. Vim felt hitting Den for that, how dare he? Bastard, he didn’t get to come back after how’d he’d left Vim. He would have as well, if not for the fact that if he moved any closer to Den, he was sure he’d pass out. 

“Great. Go on then.” Vim snapped. Den played with the hem of his jacket.

"I didn't um...really plan out what I was gonna say." Of course Den hadn't, it didn't surprise Vim. He hadn't even had the fucking decency to try very hard, had he?

"Course fucking not." Vim felt anger beginning to boil within him. "Course you fucking didn't."

"I'm... not great with words, okay?" Den knew it was a pathetic excuse but he didn't have much else. He could see this beginning to turn sour very quickly. It hadn't exactly started well but he was making a much larger mess out of it that intended. He _wanted_ to say that he was sorry, that he didn't mean...all those things but he struggled to find the words. He always did. And he could tell his stalling was only pissing Vim off further.

"I fucking know that. You made that very obvious last fucking time we talked about this, _didn't you, Den?_ " Vim didn't care if he was starting to sound girly or poofy, he couldn't help it, emotion sliced it's way into his words whether he liked it or not. "You only managed one last time so at least you're doing a bit fucking better this time around, 'ey?" He almost laughed as he said that. Den just hung his head, looking slightly like a wounded dog. Fucking good, Vim hoped he felt like shit. It was how he'd been making Vim feel for the past several days.

Den only looked up again as he felt rain begin to wet his hair. Vim watched it dot his jacket, cursing under his breath.

“Well, it’s raining now you better make this bloody good.” Even when Den was supposed to be apologising, Vim felt like he was doing a majority of the work. Den swallowed, it was now or never.

“Vim, look...I’m sorry, right?” Den wished his brain to work faster. “Er...I only reacted how I did cuz...I um...felt bad for all the other stuff I’d said and I dunno, I thought you’d stop wanting to hang out with me when you remembered all that...or something.” It was one of the more coherent sentences Den had ever put together but it was clear he wasn’t finished. “-And that was like, really stupid. I know. I’m a fucking idiot. So...um...that’s it.” Den certainly hadn’t mastered the art of apolgising but Vim felt a small part of his anger die down. 

“I thought you hated me, Den.” Vim sighed, hating how Den’s face turned to that of even deeper regret, hating how that made him feel. “You can’t just do that to people, do you have any idea what my fucking week has looked like?” 

“No.” Den admitted, looking down once again. “I...I wouldn’t ever hate you.” He added in, kicking at the quickly accumulating pool of water at his feet. A sense of relief washed through Vim, followed by mild frustration. He thought he’d promised himself to not let Den’s words affect him so greatly, not anymore.

“You have a funny way of showing that, you know?” Vim finally said, a small hint of amusement injected into those words. Den looked up, a very small but hopeful smile beginning on his face.

“I know.” He said. Vim almost smiled back before catching himself. He was still hurt, no matter how much he wanted to run at Den, hug him and lightly berate him for being such a terrible bastard. He was _meant_ to be making a point and besides, he wasn’t sure if Den was totally down with hugging. Or if he even was, one did get strange urges when you had a lot of emotions running through you. 

“I need to get out of this weather.” Vim sighed, those few earlier droplets had turned into something of a torrential downpour and he didn’t feel like standing in it any longer. He turned to go back inside before Den stopped him. 

“Can I um...come in as well?” Vim thought for a few seconds.

“N-No.” Den looked slightly put out. “No, you stand out here and um...think about what you’ve done!” Vim ran in and shut the door rather quickly after that. It felt rather stupid to say, as if he was telling off a child. And in some way he was. He supposed it felt a little mean, locking Den out in this weather but he still needed some time. 

“I’m going upstairs for a shower.” He announced to Colin and Spider, who were by now, catching up on lost time with Spider draped over Colin’s lap - who was reading something. It didn’t matter that Vim was soaking wet, he needed one. And to get that bloody jacket off him, the smell of Den was only brought out more by the rain.

“Before you do that, how did it go?” Colin asked, looking up from his book. Vim shrugged. “Oh that’s _very_ helpful, thank you Vim.” Vim grinned slightly. 

“Shut up.”

“Don’t tell me to shut up!” Colin shot back with his usual fire, although he couldn’t deny that he was glad Vim seemed to be a little more himself. Vim chuckled very slightly, he hadn’t done that all week. It was...nice.

Vim hopped up the stairs, rushing to get that jacket off. Only when he actually stepped into the shower, did he realise how fucking exhuausted he was. He felt his muscles untense for the first time in days, he hadn’t even realised he’d been so tightly wound. _Fucking hell._ He sighed, letting the water run down his back. He felt like staying in there forever, much like how he would have stayed in the rain with Den for much too long, if he’d let himself.

Introspective internal mutterings aside, Vim was just glad not to be cold anymore. The weather had turned icey quickly...the exact same weather he’d locked Den out in. Vim shook his head and turned off the water, Den had deserved it, hadn’t he? The more he thought about Den’s expression and the more his own anger faded, he wasn’t so sure. Vim tried to shake the guilt, Den had probably gotten back in the van by now...or broken the door down and come inside anyway. He couldn’t _still_ be standing out on the road….could he?

As Vim started the long task of drying his hair and heading downstairs, he discovered he was in fact, wrong. He looked out the window, just to see Den sitting on the side of the road, raining still pouring down on him. _Jesus Christ._ He’d really stayed outside that entire time?

Vim somewhat reluctantly opened the door. 

“Den! You stupid fucker!” He called. Den looked up and got up, hesitantly stepping towards the house. His hair was starting to look a bit sad and his clothes were thoroughly soaked. 

“I um...stayed out here, just like you asked.” He sounded nervous. Despite everything, Vim felt...touched? Some sort of sappy bollocks like that. 

“You didn’t have to, you know. You could have just fucked off.” 

“Yeah well...I did that already.” Den said rather quietly. Vim wasn’t sure what to say next, Den really had...stood out in the rain for him. Maybe he should give up on his moodiness, he wasn’t actually enjoying it very much. And yes Den had been an idiot but that wasn’t anything new. 

“Look...you should just come inside. Colin’s made dinner and even though I’m pretty sure it’s shit, I’m fucking starving and…” Vim couldn’t really find a good way to end that sentence. “-Just...come on.” Den grinned a little too wide and Vim felt it hard not to smile in return. 

Vim was sure he’d have to hear Colin complain about Den bringing a lake's worth of water inside with him but he couldn’t be fucked to care. Den was back and maybe Vim was a little more overjoyed about that then he let on. Dinner wasn’t as terrible as Vim feared it might have been, mostly as him and Den had gotten shitfaced much too quickly to even really properly eat it - something that Colin _did_ vocalise his complaints about. It was almost like things had returned to normal. Well...with a few small changes (namely Spider and Colin being an actual...thing, something Den figured he should _not_ comment on). 

So Vim _hadn’t_ completely forgiven Den but...well, it was a start. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH there you go! God I find writing the Bad News characters quite hard so I have no idea if my characterisation of them all is way off :')
> 
> Thanks for reading! :-]


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